Hug A Bug Pre-School

We recently moved back to the Bay Area from the East Coast where my youngest had attended an awesome co-​op pre-​school for one year (our oldest had attended the same school for 3 years — so we really liked it). When we moved to Berkeley, we wanted a place that we loved just as much — so we toured tons of preschools, not finding anything we liked until we walked into Hugabug.
From my first phone call with the director Nancy, I knew Hugabug was a special place. Nancy understands what kids need and how to create a place where they feel loved, they can explore and learn, and they can have loads of fun in the process. When we toured, our son was so comfortable that I couldn’t get him to leave. Since starting, our son has had a great experience — being welcomed by the entire staff and all of the kids — and being excited to go to pre-​school every day. I feel 100% comfortable knowing he’s having a blast, given lots of love, experiencing tons of life and friendship lessons, and doing hands-​on learning through play. All of the teachers that Nancy hires are super — each with their own special qualities that I really appreciate. And the projects they come up with for the kids are awesome (tons of interesting art and building projects, hikes in the woods, field trips to fun and educational places, the option to participate in art, gymnastics, music and yoga classes, etc.) The presence of animals on-​site (chickens, bunnies, etc.) was a huge plus for my animal-​loving family. We’re thrilled to have found this gem of a pre-​school.

Our daughter started Hug– A –Bug (HAB) when she turned 2 years old, we can’t even put into words how wonderful HAB is, Nancy and the all the HAB teachers are truly a second Family for my daughter. Her social skills have just blossomed, and her confidence in finding her own voice has soared being at HAB. With the loving and exploratory environment that Nancy and the HAB teachers encourage my daughter is constantly coming home and sharing joyous stories of her daily adventures and what she has learned. We truly are grateful for the peace of mind that HAB has given us as parents, knowing that our daughter has skills to move forward academically as a strong individual who is passionate about learning, new experiences and loving life.

It’s really hard to mention anything that hasn’t already been said about HAB. Having experienced «lesser» programs for our son, I can say with confidence that HAB is the best place for my child. All of the teachers are genuinely caring and engaged with the kids. My son has learned so many positive things from HAB and surrounded by loving people every day. Nancy, the owner of HAB, makes the world a better place, not just for the kids enrolled, but for the community by fostering love and care. As parents, we are grateful for everything HAB does for our family/​community and will enthusiastically recommend HAB to anyone and everyone!
Two BIG thumbs up and our most heartfelt thanks to Nancy and her team of wonderful teachers.

A Loving place with exceptionally psychologically-​savvy staff (and kind&fun&smart!).
We started at the Hug a Bug five years ago with our first child and now are about graduate our second. The choice was easy for us, we visited a bunch of places and yet when we felt the vibe at this preschool we knew it was the right place for our family. I wished this kind of place/​care was available to all of humanity, the world would be an even better place.
Nancy, the preschool director, is a living example that every life situation can be turned into an opportunity to love and an opportunity to learn. Our kids, thrive/​d in this atmosphere of mutual respect, love, fun, silliness, friendship and learning.
As a parent I have learned invaluable lessons about how to relate to my kids and how to navigate the occasional (but unavoidable) difficult moments by observing how Nancy and her staff do their MAGIC with our kids.

6 years ago we met Nancy the head hug — a — bugger and what an amazing life changing experience that was. As parents of a neurotic 2 year old finding the right place for our son was so very important. My son was rejected from all the «popular» preschools in the area for who knows what reason and when we found Nancy and Hug — A –bug we knew he would be at home here! Nancy and the crew have taken care of both of our sons now and both kids are such happier kids i believe because of Hug — a — bug.
The environment that the children get to be in all day is beyond cool! I am not sure how many times my son came homed covered head to toe in paint just because he wanted to know how it felt or what he would look like. Now maybe head to toe paint is not your thing. Well my son also found in the Hug — a — Bug family such true love and caring that even today he misses the place and he is in second grade. When looking at Preschools for your precious ones I am sure you will not find a more loving, caring, nurturing, educating, and did I say loving?
I could go on about all the great things but maybe a list is best:
— ducks
— awesome backyard
— Wood walks
— Yoga
— Music
— Cooking
— Gymnastics
— trick or treating
— Nancy
— Julia
— Rabbits
— lizards
— Love

Our child is very happy here. We’re happy also… it is a place for a kid to be a kid with semi-​structured activities and plenty of room for messy experimentation.

If you are reading this, you are most likely a parent of a child who needs to find a pre-​school in this area. My wife and I went to great lengths when picking a pre-​school for my then 2 year old daughter (our first child who is now five). During the entire selection process, we visited several schools and they were all different and special in their own ways, all of them with their own pros and cons.
But what made Hug-​A-​Bug stand out is that the school is truly built on a foundation of love, starting from the head teacher/​director Nancy. And as a result, the teachers she hired over the years also shared that core value and are/​were incredibly loving people as well. As a side benefit, we have come to meet other parents who share this value and are genuinely great people as well. For the past three years, I knew that when I dropped off my daughter at Hug-​A-​Bug, she (along with all other kids) was going to be loved and was in good hands. As a working parent who has to rely on people who are initially strangers to care for your child, that assurance was priceless and something I will always be thankful for.

This preschool is the best. Hands on, fun, caring, loving, special. I cannot put into words how amazing this place is.